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Those paid place-holders knew what they were doing.

For those willing to pay to get in, several Washington services will hold a person's place in line. One company charges $36 per hour, another $50, meaning the cost of a 5-day line stander comes in at $6,000. John Winslow, the operations manager of Linestanding.com, which like most other line standing services is also a courier service, said his service would be holding places for 40 to 50 clients, a number of them lawyers. His group held about 35 places in line for the health care arguments last year, he said. Most people, he said, are starting their line stander 24 hours before, so they'll spend $864 to attend.

Those lawyers that get in will be the first people the networks will want to talk to after the actual litigants. That's a reasonable career investment.